1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to hinged housings for miniaturized electronic equipment and more particularly to portable cellular transceivers which utilize hinged housings for folding elements.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An ultimate object of communication is, of course, to enable information to be transmitted or exchanged at once anytime, from anywhere, and by anybody. In addition to conventional intercommunication between fixed points, mobile communication has been gradually developed. Mobile communication means a communication between a mobile body such as ship, automobile or airplane (including a human being) and a fixed point such as home or office, and also means an intercommunication between two mobile bodies. In recent years, a portable telephone or a cordless telephone as a kind of means for carrying out the mobile communication has been extensively developed.
In general, a telephone is used with a receiver section put to the ear and a transmitter section kept near the mouth. So also in a portable telephone, it is necessary to ensure a sufficient distance between the receiver section and the transmitter section. In this circumstance, a conventional portable telephone itself is relatively long and large in size.
Telephones utilizing two housing elements, connected with some types of hinging mechanism, are common in wireline telephone sets and have become more common in landline wireless extension phones. This folding arrangement allows for the telephone to be more compact when the two housings are folded upon themselves.
Radiotelephones which utilize this type of design typically have most of the electronics within the larger of the two housings. For good acoustical performance, the cover must be held in an optimum position relative to the body and the cover helps direct sound pressure towards the microphone element.
Typical of known constructions are the disclosures in the following U.S. patents all disclose cooperating spring and cam assemblies associated with hinge constructions for a foldable telephone and associated door:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Inventor(s) Issued ______________________________________ 5,257,310 Takagi et al. 10/26/93 5,185,790 Mischenko 02/09/93 4,897,873 Beutler et al. 01/30/90. ______________________________________
While each of the foregoing constructions represented advances in the state of the art at the time that they were introduced, it was in an effort to further improve upon those advancements that the present invention was conceived and has now been reduced to practice.